Article 104 of The Treaty establishing the European Community comprises a commitment for the EU Member States to avoid excessive budgetary deficits. In particular, Member States shall comply with budgetary discipline by respecting two criteria defined in the Annex to the Treaty, the Protocol no 20 on the excessive deficit procedure. The reference values not to be exceeded are: 3% for the ratio of the public deficit to the GDP at market prices 60% for the ratio of the public debt to the GDP at market prices Article 104 also sets out a procedure, known as Excessive Deficit Procedure, to be
